Global headache after airport chaos

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Chaos at Terminal 4: More than 110,000 travellers worldwide were
affected when British Airways cancelled all flights in and out of
Heathrow.Photo: AP

Heathrow airport was still struggling last night to work through
a crippling dispute that stranded more than 110,000 passengers
worldwide at the peak of the northern summer holiday season.

British Airways said yesterday it had resumed most services but
faced a massive logistics challenge to get back to normal.

The chaos was the result of wildcat action by the airline's
baggage and cargo handlers, loaders and other staff, in support of
667 workers sacked by Gate Gourmet, British Airways' catering
contractors.

The resumption of flights at London's Heathrow came soon after
about 1000 staff who walked out on Friday in support of the sacked
workers returned to work.

But even with the return to work, the airline said, it would be
days before services were back to normal. Holiday demand meant
airline seats on other carriers were at a premium. This had
exacerbated the problems of getting passengers away as well as
repatriating those stranded elsewhere.

British Airways' director of customer services and operations,
Mike Street, said the airline faced a complex task, with at least
100 aircraft and 1000 flying crew in the wrong places.

"As a result, it will take some time to return to a normal
flying program," he said.

Acas, a statutory advisory, conciliation and arbitration
service, began talks yesterday with Gate Gourmet and unions.

About 100,000 passengers fly each day with British Airways
during August, and about two-thirds of its flights, excluding
franchises, use Heathrow, the world's busiest international
hub.

A British Airways spokeswoman said that about 73,000 passengers
were grounded yesterday after 40,000 passengers had not been able
to take their flights on Friday.

The airline said it had found 4000 hotel rooms for passengers
and 1600 had spent the night at the airport.

It said it was too early to estimate the cost of the strike, but
it would be in the tens of millions of dollars. About 620 flights
had been cancelled since Friday, British Airways said.

The airline's relations with staff have been strained since it
axed thousands of jobs in the industry downturn that followed the
September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

The strike came after a long-running spat between workers and
Gate Gourmet, owned by US private equity fund Texas Pacific. Unions
said Gate Gourmet staff were sacked after they walked out in
protest at planned changes to pay and conditions; the company said
its reforms were needed to safeguard its future.

- Reuters

Taking the shine off knight's armour

For retiring British Airways chief Rod Eddington, the man soon to
head the Victorian Major Events Company, Heathrow's strike chaos
represents a disastrous farewell to a country that knighted him for
services to the aviation industry earlier this year.

This is the third time in as many years that a shutdown of
flights has happened during peak travel time.

Perth-born Sir Rod, 55, will leave the company as the most
profitable airline in the world next month and return to Melbourne
with his family to take on his new role in January. He will be
looking after events such as the grand prix and the AFL grand
final. He is on the News Corp board and is also taking a board seat
with mining giant Rio Tinto.